


Great Beauty and Wonder

by Anonymous



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: F/F, Female Delbert Doppler, Gender or Sex Swap, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-29 20:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20442125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Amelia and Delberta go traveling among the stars.





	Great Beauty and Wonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cân Cennau (gwenynnefydd)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwenynnefydd/gifts).

> Thank you to Tuesday for betaing.

Delberta had been beyond grateful when Amelia had agreed to come home with her, back to Montressor and more specifically to the Bedbow. Sarah and Jim were family, and Delberta hadn't wanted to leave them too soon. Not before she could be sure they were settled.

Amelia, bless her, had understood. "I'm due for a bit less excitement anyway," she had said in those crisp vowels that it seemed would forever set Delberta's heart aflutter.

That had been months ago, and on this particular evening, when Delberta caught her wife out on the terrace, gaze turned upward toward the stars in wistful longing, Delberta crept out to stand behind her.

She had intended to draw near to Amelia and drape herself over her wife's shoulders. Instead, she tripped over something—a bucket or a tool perhaps—and a loud clang rather spoiled the effect. Amelia steadied her footing, which meant she ended up in Amelia's embrace anyway; that was what mattered.

"So, my dear Doctor, does someone need something, or did you come out here to watch the stars?"

"To watch you, er um, to watch you watch the stars," she corrected, her face heating.

Though the embarrassment dissipated as soon as Amelia smiled. "The stars and I appreciate your attention."

"Good." They settled in for a few moments, Amelia watching the sky and Delberta watching Amelia, before she said, "You miss it."

"Miss what?"

"Sailing the stars."

Amelia hesitated. "I..."

"It wasn't a question. I understand, a captain deserves to be out there, exploring."

"I don't know. We're needed here."

"Correction: we were needed here. Now, not so much. Jim and Sarah will be fine."

“You're absolutely certain?"

"Yes, and don't think we need to stay on my account. I've always wanted to be," she raised one arm in a sweeping gesture indicate the sky, "up there."

"But a new ship and crew." A hint of distress flickered across Amelia's sharp features, wrinkling her nose. "You didn't exactly do so well with that last time."

Delberta winced then shook it off. "I was thinking," Delberta began, before pausing to kiss away some of the stress. "More along the lines of a crew of one."

"One?"

Delberta nodded. "I mean, you're the expert. If there's a particularly good reason why we'd need more people aboard then by all means, but it's bound to be a touch less roman—"

Amelia set a finger to her wife's lips. "Just the two of us. I'd like that."

"—tic," Delberta finished. "You would?"

"I would," Amelia agreed then pulled her wife in close for another kiss.

***

That was how some four days later Amelia found herself shoving off in what might best be called a space coracle. It was a tiny slip of a vessel, but spaceworthy, and if the pirate misadventure had taught her anything, it was that grandeur was to be avoided.

The pair of them decided against a particular destination. True adventuring was aimless, guided by the sky, and being willing to drift meant less need to pay careful attention to their course. They fell into a routine. Breakfast and tea together followed by steering lessons in the morning.

"I steer perfectly well," Delberta insisted nearly every morning, and Amelia shot her the same fond look each time.

"You performed admirably when we were fleeing our lives, my darling," she said on that first morning. "I'd like your technique to include a bit less darting and banking!" Her point was underscored as the ship tilted sharply to the right, nearly sending Amelia sprawling across the deck. She pulled herself to steady on her feet and approached the helm. "If you'll agree to my instructions, we'll make a fine spacer out of you yet."

And...if Amelia extended the lessons by a few days because she enjoyed spending time pressed up close against her wife as she guided Delberta's hands along the wheel? Well, that could be her secret. She suspected (and hoped) Delberta restarted the argument anew every morning because she agreed.

Midday meant a transition to serious sailing. The kind that could get them to their next destination of the moment. They took turns commenting on various galactic and astral phenomena as they passed. Amelia's contributions were practical, places she'd visited, what she'd seen and experienced. Delberta's musings were theoretical, products of years of academia and wonder. By their nature, there was infinitely more of the latter than the former, but a steady stream of Delberta's chatter made for a very pleasant afternoon's shift at the wheel.

They enjoyed the warmth pouring off other supernovae—at much safer distances away than their first, thank you very much—and watched the glittering dust of distant galaxies swirl and twist. Once or twice, they even dropped into orbit and took shore leave on a particularly enticing planet and collected trinkets from foreign markets.

Not every day abroad was exciting. Sometimes they had a particularly empty-seeming patch of space without much visual interest to speak of. On those days, they practiced light combat.

"Remind me, why are we doing this?" Delberta asked and squeaked as Amelia advanced toward her. Delberta scuttled to on one side.

Amelia sighed. "Because I don't want you to ever have cause to say you feel useless again."

"That really is quite all right, you know," Delberta babbled. "I appreciate the concern and all, I do, but I'm more of a lover than a fighter. I can just, you know, flee."

Delberta ran for the opposite side of the ship as if to demonstrate, and Amelia, with a hop and flip, landed gracefully in front of her. "Not in quarters this small."

"Show off," grumbled Delberta, but her expression was smitten as ever.

"No, this would be showing off." Amelia carefully knocked Delberta off her feet, but caught her a second before she hit the deck.

Delberta pouted even as she snuggled into her wife's embrace. "Consider me impressed, and only mildly cross with you."

Amelia chuckled. "Would a kiss brighten your bruised spirit?"

"Indubitably it would."

They did more kissing than learning, but it suited them fine.

***

For all that the great scholar Dr. Doppler had studied and written and yearned for grand space adventure, Delberta came to find she also adored space night. Blanketed by blue-black sky and stars that shimmered in every direction, they tethered the ship to the nearest solid celestial object or drifted along in a gentle patch of space. It was peaceful after sightseeing expeditions. She'd begun to look forward to the stretches of time where they'd bed down on the deck and she was free to do nothing more than listen to the creek of the ship and the wind currents lapping against the hull intermingled with the steady rhythm of her wife's breathing.

The beauty of a nebula, the excitement of a nova, the wonder of a far-flung new world all paled in comparison to being right here in her wife's arms. Happy and utterly at home.

As Delberta's eyes grew heavy, she hoped she would remember that thought to share in the morning.

After all, Amelia did love poetry.


End file.
